Margate man ID'd as pilot killed in Pahokee small-plane crash

A 69-year-old Margate man was the pilot killed in a small-plane crash Saturday at Lake Okeechobee, authorities say.

Divers found Bruce Lowerre's body strapped in the seat of the Model S-12E kit plane, according to Teri Barbera, a spokeswoman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

First responders headed to the crash at 8:06 a.m. after initial reports of a possible boating accident about two miles offshore. The details changed to an "amateur-experimental-plane" crash after officials got to the scene, said Fire Rescue Captain Albert Borroto.

A sheriff's "helicopter responded and discovered that the wreckage was an aircraft," Barbera said. "The aircraft was discovered upside down."

Lowerre's body was taken to the Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating how the crash happened, officials said.